Holly Krutka, Executive Director, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources
Jason Begger, ITC Stakeholder Relations Director
The Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC)’s year was marked by significant achievements in advancing the commercial readiness of carbon management technologies. From completion of project construction to testing on the largest carbon capture project at the facility to date, the ITC continues to bring together government, industry, and cooperatives to advance carbon technology.
The School of Energy Resources has been thrilled to add the ITC to our portfolio of programs and to collaborate with ITC developers and partners as we work to develop solutions on a suite of carbon capture, carbon utilization, and carbon storage technologies. The State of Wyoming continues to set the bar for the global energy industry, and the ITC plays a vital role in the development, and ultimate commercialization, of new carbon management technologies.
Some key milestones that shaped our journey this year include:
- May: Membrane Technology & Research (MTR) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) broke ground on their two carbon capture projects.
- June: Management of ITC added to the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) portfolio of activities.
- August: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and EPA Region 8 Administrator KC Becker toured the Wyoming ITC and Wyoming CarbonSAFE sites.
- September: The Western Governors’ Association (WGA) hosted a special workshop at the ITC to showcase efforts driving carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology in western states.
- October: Japan Carbon Frontier Organization (JCOAL) and KHI celebrated the completion of construction on their solid sorbent carbon capture technology.
- November: KHI’s solid sorbent carbon capture project began operational testing at the ITC. The testing phase allowed the project to begin accessing flue gas from the coal-fired power plant.
- December: The ITC was mentioned on ’60 MINUTES’ as part of an episode exploring Wyoming’s energy strategy and innovation in the state. The segment on the long-running Sunday night CBS News program focused on Gov. Mark Gordon and his pledge to make Wyoming net negative for carbon emissions. The ITC plays a vital role in the advancement of carbon capture technology.
KHI has successfully finished the first series of testing for its novel solid sorbent carbon capture project. This bench-scale demonstration will verify the effectiveness and usefulness of the solid sorbent technology for commercial deployment to large-scale plants. KHI’s process is unique in that the sorbent utilizes a lower grade heat than is required in a conventional amine-based solvent system; KHI believes that this allows for the carbon capture system to operate more efficiently and use less energy than the current carbon capture systems available. KHI will continue to test their sorbent into 2024.
Since breaking ground on their carbon capture project, MTR has made significant progress on the construction of their large-scale carbon capture project. Once built, MTR will use its proprietary Polaris™ polymeric membrane to capture more than 150 tonnes of CO2 each day. The large pilot will be one of the largest non-solvent based post-combustion capture plant in the world and represents MTR’s final step toward commercial deployment. MTR is anticipating completing construction and beginning operation of their pilot in 2024.
CCUS plays a pivotal role in ensuring the ongoing reliability of energy resources, while working to address concerns about carbon emissions. The work occurring at the ITC will help commercialize the technologies required to ensure effective carbon management solutions make it to market.